Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Suncor (SU) to Sell Its Wind & Solar Assets for C$730 Million

Read MoreHide Full Article

Suncor Energy (SU - Free Report) recently announced that it would sell its wind and solar assets for C$730 million consideration to an ATCO company – Canadian Utilities Limited. This divestiture is in line with the company’s objective of concentrating on areas of energy expansion that are more complementary to SU’s core business, such as hydrogen and renewable fuels, along with progressing toward net zero by 2050.

The assets being divested by Suncor comprise the new 202-megawatt Forty Mile wind project in the Canadian province of Alberta, which is anticipated to be operational by 2022 end. The assets also include stakes in the Magrath, Chin Chute and Adelaide wind facilities in Ontario.

Expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2023, the deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable third-party regulatory reviews and approvals. Moreover, the purchase price is subject to typical closing adjustments.

Kris Smith, Suncor’s interim president and chief executive officer, mentioned that the sale of these assets streamlines SU’s portfolio, helping the company focus its efforts on the core business. “Our ESG efforts will continue to advance in other areas that are complementary to our core business such as replacing coke-fired boilers at Base Plant with lower emission cogeneration units, investing in hydrogen and low-carbon fuels and accelerating commercial scale deployment of carbon capture technology,” he added.

Founded in 1917, Alberta-based Suncor Energy, Inc. is Canada's premier integrated energy company. The company's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore crude oil and gas production, petroleum refining and product marketing.

SU is one of the largest owners of oil sands worldwide. The company gained new oil sand properties to supplement its existing operations in northern Alberta, making it the dominant producer in the region where reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia.

Suncor currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the energy space might look at the following companies — Ring Energy (REI - Free Report) , SilverBow Resources (SBOW - Free Report) and Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) — each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ring’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $1.05 per share, up 238.7% from the year-ago earnings of 31 cents.

REI beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being 17.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SilverBow’s 2022 earnings stands at $10.05 per share, up 56.5% from the year-ago earnings of $6.42.

SBOW beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 36%.

Valero Energy beat estimates for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being around 33.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VLO’s 2022 earnings stands at $27.55 per share, up about 880.4% from the year-ago earnings of $2.81.

Published in